Many types of treatments or modification of fabrics have been developed. Fabrics at various times during manufacture have been treated to alter existing characteristics to obtain a fabric that is desired by the consumer. Known practices include modifying fabrics by laundering, beating, chemical treatment, shearing fibers, embossing, selective heating, selective dyeing or bleaching, thermal calendaring, abrading, and treating with jets of hot fluids or air, among others. Different methods, such as shearing fibers, treating with hot fluid jets or using heated drums or patterned rolls are employed to create textured or sculptured effects. By use of these techniques, yarns in the fabrics are selectively cut, crushed, melted, or softened so that a patterned or sculptured effect is formed in the treated location.
Cutting or shearing methods are commonly used in the textile industry to create tuffs of material. The shearing action typically occurs by a blade or sharp implement. This is a very precise method and requires specific equipment to ensure that the yarns are not cut too severely or that more yarns than intended are not cut. When cutting occurs, all yarns in a weave in the area where the material contacts the blade will be cut. Additionally, the blades will need to be frequently sharpened depending upon the fabric used.
Other methods used to create texture in a textile material include the use of heat and/or chemicals. One example of this is embossing. Embossing occurs through a heated calendaring process where the fabric is engraved in specified areas to cause Z plane deformation without substantial movement or displacement of yarns in the X and/or Y direction. Embossing is a macro displacement process that generally involves multiple yarns in each engraved area.
The lack of X and/or Y direction displacement can be seen by examining an embossed material with an optical microscope using only back light. Removal of reflective light will eliminate the visual affects caused by shadowing and will bring emphasis to the weave pattern. In embossed fabrics, the weave spacing remains the same in both embossed and unembossed areas.
Texturizing of fabrics or textiles can be achieved during initial formation of fabrics by knitting, weaving, flocking or tufting techniques. The desired texture or pattern can also be achieved through finishing process. With a finishing process, the same starting fabric can be used to create many different textured fabrics. This allows for easily changing a pattern to meet changing consumer needs without excessive inventory.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a textile material that has been textured through a finishing process. It is also an object of the invention to provide an economical and efficient process to achieve the texturing of a textile material.